The campaign kicked off with Barbara Kruger-designed buses that hit the streets of Los Angeles earlier this week. The 12 city buses wrapped in text were created by Kruger as part of the month-long multimillion-dollar public awareness campaign. The campaign consists of city buses, 85 billboards, bus shelters, and wall postings promoting arts education in Los Angeles public schools.

The citywide campaign features original works of art by world-renowned artists on the city buses and outdoor advertising spaces totaling over $4 million in value. The first of its kind, this citywide public art exhibition and fundraising campaign targets arts education in Los Angeles which is the nation’s second largest public school system. The campaign will fund the development of innovative “arts integration” curricula for the Los Angeles Unified School District and communicate the essential role of arts education in public schools.

“Arts education is critical for helping students develop creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving abilities,” said LA Fund Chair, Megan Chernin.  “In a district with nearly 80% of our student population living in poverty, in the heart of the world’s creative capital, it is our imperative to ensure our public school students have the resources they need to prepare them for college and their careers.”

With studies showing that arts education is one of the most effective ways of teaching essential skills for today’s workforce, the need for robust arts education has never been clearer.

“We at CBS are very pleased to be able to give back to the community we serve by joining with the LA Fund and the Los Angeles Unified School District in this important effort,” said Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation.   “The future will belong to creative problem solvers, and this terrific campaign will help prepare the next generation of those unique and valuable colleagues.   That just might be the most valuable contribution we can make to the generation that comes after us.”

CBS Outdoor is a lead sponsor of the $4 million campaign, with additional outdoor media inventory and services donated by Zenith Media and others.

Read more from the LA Fund here and images and information about Barbara Kruger from artnet here.